Page 28 of Scion of Chaos

I turn to run the other direction and Geva grabs my arm, scowling at me. “Gabby,” he says. In a panic, I look between him and our tent.

“I’ll stay with Gabby. You guys go!” Thea yells.

Shooting her a grateful look and a nod, I sprint down the path to the dig. Before I get ten yards, stones clatter behind me and thunderous wingbeats sound overhead. The next thing I know, my upper arms and shoulders are clutched in giant dragon talons and I’m sailing over Mytikas Peak, around to the dig site.

“What if the trespassers are human?” I yell up to him. It wouldn’t be wise to have a bunch of dragons swoop in if it’s just a few harmless treasure hunters who don’t even know dragons exist.

“They aren’t. Not if Aurin sounded the alarm from the air.”His voice resonates inside my mind as he holds me tight and circles without landing so we can scope out what’s happening below.

Bright light fills the excavation, but the brightest source is not the floodlights, which I’m sure we turned off when we left late in the evening. A standoff is under way below us, involving what looks like four large men trapped between two enormous dragons—golden Aurik and the huge white Guardian, Roka. Aurin lands nearby to flank the intruders, gilt fire flowing from her mouth as she lifts her wings threateningly.

The source of the light appears to be one of the men, whose skin is glowing so bright it nearly obscures his entire shape.

“Put me down!” I yell, smacking at Geva’s claws.

He descends in an arc, carefully depositing me on the dusty wooden platform just above the excavation where two darkened floodlights aim down at the scene. I flip the switch, shining them below while Geva lands, caging the trespassers in even more.

“This is a private dig site!” I yell. “You have no business here. Leave now, or I’ll have them tear you to shreds!”

The glowing man in front turns to me, his brilliance fading enough that I can make out his features, as well as those of the trio standing behind him. They’re each as handsome as gods, their stature nearly head-high to Aurin, the smallest of the four dragons. This puts them at nearly eight feet tall.

And they’re fucking ripped, their simple tattered gray loincloths leaving very little to the imagination. Now that the lead man isn’t blinding me with his light, I can tell the glow emanates from an angular symbol in the center of his chest. Each of the other men carry similar symbols. They spark a memory that makes my stomach turn a flip.

“This place belongs to me and my brothers,” the man says, his voice resonating enough to carry all the way to where I stand about a hundred yards above.

“The hell it does. It belongs to Greece. It’s been buried for thousands of years!”

Footsteps pound up the path and Camille, Eben, and Dimitri arrive, skidding to a stop at the platform before slowly joining me by the railing. “What the fuck?” Eben mutters under his breath. I dart a look at him, silently pleading him to keep quiet.

“You have no idea what you have uncovered, do you?” the glowing man asks.

I glance around at the dragons. Does he even see them? He doesn’t seem surprised by their presence, but he hasn’t tried to fight back. If these men are who I think they are, they should be powerful enough to beat a few dragons. And the very presence of said dragons should clue him in that I know exactly what I just dug up.

“Who the hell are you?” I yell.

“We are the ones whobuiltthis place. We are the ones who spawned the so-calledgodswho usurped us, imprisoned us, and claimed Mount Olympus as their seat of power. I am Hyperion. These are my brothers, Coeus, Iapetus, and Crius. We are the Titans. Where are your gods now, little human? Don’t tell me you worship these scaled creatures even more generations removed from the former residents of this mountain.”

His voice booms up at me, the vibrations making my teeth hurt. Geva eyes me, his voice clear in my head.“If what he says is true, we may have a fight on our hands.”

“If you are really Titans, why haven’t you already put us in our place and claimed this temple?”

Twin puffs of flaming smoke rise from Geva’s nostrils.“Don’t taunt the fucker.”

“Don’t give him any ammo, Erika,” Dimitri warns.

“Have it your way,” Hyperion says.

The three other Titans move quickly, and all four dragons roar and let loose fire into the center of their circle. An explosion rocks the air as the Titans blast the dragons back against the sides of the excavation.

Aurin’s back cracks against the heavy support posts of the platform, making it shudder. Eben grabs Camille and Dimitri grabs me, pulling me off the platform onto solid ground as a skirmish ensues below. The dragons are stunned for a moment, but shake it off, charging back in, each leaping atop one of the Titans.

It’s impossible to follow, but I keep my attention glued to Geva, who has Hyperion grappled as he snaps at his neck with fiery bites. Hyperion swings with a fist to Geva’s jaw and slams a knee into his gut, making him scrabble back. Geva wheezes and shakes his head before charging again, sharp talons extended and fire spewing from his mouth.

The long-suffering look on Hyperion’s face worries me, as if the dragons are merely an unforeseen annoyance. His fist glows brighter when Geva reaches him, and this time the punch is harder, sending Geva sailing up into the air, wings twisting before crashing onto the platform in front of me with a sickening crunch.

“Geva!” I cry out in alarm and run to him. Dimitri yells a warning, grabbing hold of my arm, but I’m not about to let him keep me from my mate. Too late I hear the crack of wood as the beams beneath the platform splinter. The world tilts, and I grab hold of Geva’s neck as the platform collapses with a jolt that makes my stomach fly into my throat.

When the platform settles, it’s quiet, but bright as day. My stomach is upside-down when I kneel at Geva’s side, skittering my hands over his big, red-scaled face. His eyes are closed and he’s completely, heart-wrenchingly still.

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